Slide-trombone.



No. 739,353. PATBNTED SEPT. 22, 1903; F. P. SHEPARD & 1). K. STAUPFER.

SLIDE TROMBONE.

nrmo'nmn rmsn APR. 1a. 1903.

N0 MODEL.

mysasse. V UNITED STATES Patented September 22, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK P. snRPARn AND DON K. STAUFFER, or EDMOND, OKLAHOMA TERRITORY.

SLIDE-TROMBONE.

SPEG IFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 739,353, dated September 22, 1903.

Application filed April 131 1903- To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, FRANK P. SHEPARD and DON K. STAUFFER, citizens of the United States, residing at Edmond, in the county of Oklahoma and Territory of Oklahoma, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Slide-Trombones, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being bad to the drawings hereunto annexed. V

All slide-trombones are composed of a stationary portion having two forwardly-projecting parallel tubes, which extend into and support the two tubular arms of a U -shaped front portion, said front portion being adapted to slide upon said parellel tubes and being known as the slide.

The object, therefore, of the present invention is to provide cheap, simple, and effective means for carrying asupply of lubricatingoil with the instrument and delivering said oil into the tubular arms of the slide to re duce the friction between their inner surfaces and the outsides of said parallel tubes.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the ensuing description.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the front portion of a slidetrombone, the portionjof the figure on the left-hand side of the line A A being the stationary portion of the instrument and the portion on the right-hand side being the slide. Fig. 2 is a greatly enlarged side elevation of the portion shown between the lines A A and B B, Fig. 1, parts being cutaway to expose interior construction. Fig. 3 is a sectional view, on the same scale as Fig. 2, of the parts shown between the lines A A and B B, Fig. 1, the tubes of the stationary portion which extend into the tubular arms of the slide not being shown.

Referring to the several figures, in all of which like characters of reference designate like parts, all slide-trombones have a crossbrace O, which connects the rear ends of the tubular arms S and S and forms a handhold for operating the instrument. In the present invention this brace is made tubular, its walls being only of suificient thickness to give it proper rigidity, and it is utilized as an oil- Serial No. 152,425. (No model.)

retaining tube. This arrangement obviates the necessity of adding an extra tubeoroil-receptacle tothe instrument to project out in the way'and does not materially change its shape or appearance. The ends of the tube O,which are brazed to the arms S and S, are stopped and reinforced in strength by the plugs B. and H, which are secured within the ends of said tube and to the arms by brazing. Lying within the oil-tube C are two small tubes NV and T, whose inner bores are open through their entire length. The lower end of the tube W extends well down toward the lower end of the tube 0, while its upper end passes tightly through and is secured within the plug R by soldering or brazing. The wall of the upper arm S adjacent to the end of the tube W is provided with an opening J which registers with said tube, so that the lower end of the oil-tube O is in permanent communication with the bore of the arm S through the bore of said tube W. The opening J is made larger than the bore of the tube W in order to prevent the adjacent end of the bore of the latter from catching sediment and becoming choked.- The upper end of the oiltube 0 is placed in permanent communica tion with the lower arm S of the slide by the tube T, which extends tightly through the plug R and is secured by solder or brazing. The opening J through the wall of the lower arm S of the slide is formed at the lower end of the tube T in a similar manner and for the same purpose as the opening J aforesaid. Each of the arms S and S is provided with an aperture X, formed through its wall opposite to and in line with the bore of the tube W or T, so thatby removing the slide from the parts which work within it a wire probe may be passed through the tubes to clean them out The'oil-tube O is provided with.

' a neck D, through which it may be filled with oil, and said neck is provided with a cap or stopper P, engaging it by screw-threads and having a packing O to make it air-tight. The neck D should be located well up toward the upper end of the oil-tube C in order not to be in the way of the thumb when said tube is grasped for playing the instrument, and said neck should stand or projectin a rearward direction to allow the front end of the slide to hang down in a natural and convenient'position while filling the tube 0 with oil.

In'the operation of the instrument the oiltube O is filled partly or entirely full of thin light lubricating-oil and is closed tightly by the cap I. The arrangement of the tubes W and T prevents the force of gravitation from drawing or wasting the oil out of the tube 0, by reason of the fact that in flowing out through the tube W the oil must travel upward, and in flowing out through the tube T it must first get to the upper end of said tube. The oil is further prevented from flowing too rapidlyfrom the oil-tube O by allowing no air to enter said tube to replace it, and the bores of the tubes W and T are therefore made small enoughsay one thirty-second oi an inchin sizeso that air cannot bubble in through them as the oil flows out. By the more or less rapid and agitating movement of the slide in playing and by the frequent changes of position of the instrument in carrying or handling it the oil in the tube 0 is caused to submerge the ends of both of the tubesW and T at sufficiently frequent intervals to allow said ends to fill with oil by capillary attraction, and by capillary force the oil creeps slowly upon the inner surface of said tubes out into the arms S and S. Although the oil-tube G is closed practically airtight, enough air leaks into it past or through the packing O to replace the small amount of oil drawn out by capillary force, so that the amount of oil fed to the working parts depends upon and is in inverse proportion to the pressure that is put upon the packing O by the cap P. The oil is further fed to the working parts by the changes of temperature which occur in the oil-tube O by its contact with the hand or fingers in handling the instrument, the oil or air within said tube 0 expanding at each rise of temperature and forc ing out part or all of the small amount of oil in the tubes W and T. If for any reason it is desired to apply more oil to the parts than will flow from the oil-tube O by the processes described, the cap P may be unscrewed a few revolutions and by the partial vacuum thus formed in said tube will draw a small amount of air in through one or both of the tubes \/V and T or allow it to leak in under said cap. Then by quickly screwing the cap P back to normal position the slight air-pressure set up in the tube 0 will force a quantity of oil out through said tubes W and T. The location of the oil-tube G at the rear end of the slide allows the oil to be fed into the rear ends of the slide-arms, so that in holding or carrying the instrument with the front end of the slide down the oil works gradually toward the front and lubricates the entire length of the working parts.

Changes in the minor details of the invention may be allowed without departing from its meaning or intent.

The foregoing being a full, clear, and exact description of our invention, what we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- 1. Aslide-t-rombonehaving an oil-retaining tube mounted between and secured to its slide-arms, capillary tubes leading from within the retaining-tube into the slide-arms, said retaining-tube being arranged to form the hand hold-brace of the slide whereby the alternate raising and lowering of its;temperature in being grasped and released by the hand will eject the oil, substantially as described.

2. Aslide-trombone having an oil-retaining tube mounted between and secured to its slide-arms, said tube having capillary ducts each leading from one end of the tube into the slide-armat its opposite end,.whereby the oil is prevented from wasting out through said capillary tubes by the force of gravity, substantially as described.

3. Aslide-trombonehavingan oil-retaining tube mounted between and secured to its slide-arms, each end of said retaining-tube having a capillary tube leading from within it into its respective slide-arm, said capillary tubes extending within said retaining-tube to the opposite end of its inner space, whereby the oil is prevented from wasting out through said tubes by the force of gravity, substantially as described.

t. Aslide-trombonehaving an oil-retaining tube mounted between and secured to its slide-arms, the ends of said tube being closed and strengthened by plugs secured within them and to the slide-arms by solder or brazing, capillary tubesleading from within the retaining-tube through the plugs into the slide-arms, the portion of the capillary tubes within the retaining-tube extending a suflicient portion of the full inner length of said retaining-tube to prevent the oilfrom wasting outsaid capillary tubes by the force of gravity, substantially as described.

5. Aslide-trombone having an oil-retaining tube mounted between and secured to its slide-arms, capillary tubes leading from within the retaining-tube into the slide-arms, the walls of the slide-arms having apertures to allow the passage of a probe through the capillary tubes, substantially as described.

6. Aslide-trombonehavingan oil-retaining tube mounted between and secured to its slide-arms, tubes or ducts leading from with in said retaining-tube into the slide-arms,said retaining-tube having a filling-opening provided with a stopper engaging it by screwthreads, said stopper being adapted to be unscrewed and screwed up to exert a pressure in the retaining-tube to eject the oil, substantially as described.

7. Aslide-trombonehaving an oil-retaining tube mounted between and secured to its slide-arms,said retaining-tube having a screw* threaded stopper or cap, said stopper being provided with an elastic packing, whereby it.

may close the retaining-tube tightly or may be adjusted to admit and govern a flow of air into the, retaining-tube, substantially as described.

8. A slide-trombone having the handhold cross-brace of its slide made tubular and adapted to contain a supply of oil, the ends of the said brace being reinforced by plugs soldered or brazed Within them and to the slide-arms, capillary tubes leading from with in said brace through said plugs into the slidearms, the inner portions of said capillary tubes extending from the end. at which they enter said retaining-tube to the opposite end of its inner space, whereby the oilis prevented from Wasting out through said tubes by the force'of gravity, the walls of the slide-arms having apertures to allow the passage of a probe through the capillary tubes, the said brace having a screw-threaded cap or stopper provided with an elastic packing, substantially as described.

Signed in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses, at Edmond, in the county of Okla-' holna and Territory of Oklahoma, this 7th -day of April, 1903.

FRANK P. SHEPARD. DON K. STAUFFER.

Witnesses:

MICHAEL OAssIDY, H. H. Moosn. 

